Episode Summary

When Stark's witness is murdered by the bombing of the prison bus, Jessica Devlin agrees to help and recruits Deputy District Attorney Danny Reyes from the Organized Crime Unit to assist in the investigation.

A good start for the new season

I rarely felt this episode get past gear 3! When it did, it was mostly due to the subject matter of Russian mafia and the collateral killings and threat that occurred around the investigation of the original hit. That scene was excellently done, just not as spectacular as other exploding buses though.

However, the show has returned with a top quality episode which flows in a fast paced mood, seen in previous high quality episodes. Didnt like the way Sam Page has been written out - hope he returns at some point.Plot was focused enough to feel logical. Dialogue was its usual level of above average.My only concern is that there doesnt seem to be any more character development of the central characters going on. To be fair, its the first episode and with Jessica now on the team (goodie), perhaps we will begin to see relationship dynamics shift and change, also with the Reyes.My only concern is that we dont seem to be seeing enough courtroom drama or cop show. Personally, I hope that most episodes will be prominent in either but not try to accomodate both as in Law and Order. It just dilutes the impact on storylines.A good start, but I want to see this ratchet up another few notches.moreless

What a way to start off the new season!

This was a great episode! I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo happy that Jessica is back and here to stay. This episode had a lot of favorite scenes for me. I loved at the beginning where Jessica and Stark are talking on the phone, I loved whenever they are talking when going from place to place like the line, "You smell nice." "Shut up."My other favorite scene was when Jessica was talking to Cutler in his office. I loved the way she threatened him. It was amazing! I also like the car chase scene. It was a nice touch to the episode. We definitely have not seen the last of Andre Zatofsky.moreless

Shark is back with new team members and new cases.

This episode was disappointing for a few reasons. First, Casey's gone. Being a Casey/Madeleine shipper, that sucks big time. Second, the new guy, Danny Reyes. His fuse is a little too short for my taste...I'm used to Shark being the only guy getting angry like that. Heck, Shark gets angry only when necessary, he doesn't go around with his gun half-cocked all the time. I think it's going to take a while for me to get used to him.Third, the new DA. He looks like a jerk. Jessica Devlin was way better (she looked better too).Now for the pros of the episode. As much as I want Jessica Devlin back as the DA, I'd like to think her losing the elections is a good thing. If she hadn't, she wouldn't be joining Shark's team, and we wouldn't be able to see her in action in the court room. I agree with Shark, she's born to be a prosecutor instead of signing papers and whatnot.James Woods is brilliant as usual.Arnold Vosloo is a very effective villain. I think this has something to do with his role as Imhotep (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns), but I'm looking forward to seeing more of his character. Maybe TPTB would make him this season's "arch-enemy".All in all, I love James Woods, Jeri Ryan and Arnold Vosloo, but this was a weak season premiere. The season better pick up.moreless

Disappointing for a number of reasons, this second season opener has set a rather low bar for the producers of Shark to clamber over as they roll out the rest of the season.moreless

The variety of slimy characters that are starting to populate the screen are what bothered me most about this episode. Stark comes off looking almost angelic against the slimy new DA and the brash young Reyes character. Part of the appeal of the first season was that "Shark" really was the predator in the water, the guy who was willing to go farther and push limits that no one else was willing to push.Now it seems that Stark is just one of many man-eating creatures out there. I am also a little disappointed in the way they reintroduced Julie. She has become a bit of a conniving brat, as opposed to the truly loving and loyal daughter to whom we were originally introduced.All-in-all, I think they better get back to the basics of Stark juggling personal and professional challenges while still coming off as the baddest of the bad-ass lawyers on the "good" side of the system.moreless

On the wrong track - need to get back to more substatial scripts. The season premiere of Shark was unwatchable. Much of the hour was spent with the cast quickly reciting expository dialog to explain a tired unoriginal storyline.moreless

The season premiere of Shark was unwatchable. It's like someone sat down with the producers and said, "Let's throw in some explosions and a car chase - that's the ticket." Much of the hour was spent with the cast quickly reciting expository dialog to explain a tired unoriginal storyline. Woods shows up almost as a cameo character for some even worse dialog. Stylistically they're trying to amp up the show. But in the end, bad story, worse dialog. Hope they recover. I'm a fan of this show and beleive it can do better. They just need to put more time into the scripts and less into a mostly derivative style. And James Woods needs to be on screen as much as possible.moreless

Stark's unit is supposed to handle high-profile cases only, and yet the crime in this episode was committed by what he called a "two-bit burglar." There was no explanation of why he was trying the case.

QUOTES (8)

Stark: Hey, thanks for working this one, Jess.Jessica: I'll do better next time.Stark: Next time?Jessica: If that job offer still stands?Stark: So what happened to the little things?Jessica: Ah, screw the little things. No, I put my whole life into this place, and I'm damned if I'm gonna let Leo Cutler or anyone else mess it up.

Jessica: Karen Dunmiller still work for you?Cutler: Yes. Why?Jessica: Let's not insult each other. During the campaign, my research opposition team got some pictures of you and Karen working late. Pictures you wouldn't even put on your wall, Leo. Pictures I definitely don't think your wife would understand.Cutler: You bitch.Jessica: No. If I was really a bitch, I would've used them to sink your sleazy campaign.

Important:
You must only upload images which you have created yourself or that you are expressly authorised or licensed to upload. By clicking "Publish", you are confirming that the image fully complies with TV.com’s Terms of Use and that you own all rights to the image or have authorization to upload it.

Please read the following before uploading

Do not upload anything which you do not own or are fully licensed to upload. The images should not contain any sexually explicit content, race hatred material or other offensive symbols or images. Remember: Abuse of the TV.com image system may result in you being banned from uploading images or from the entire site – so, play nice and respect the rules!